Koch Industries helps sponsor Fiorina fundraiserBy KEVIN FREKING - Bloomberg/AP
WASHINGTON - September 24, 2010, 8:02AM ET
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Republican Carly Fiorina worked to gain ground Thursday in raising money for her U.S. Senate race with at least two fundraisers in the nation's capital, including one partly sponsored by a company seeking to undermine California's global warming law.
Koch Industries, based in Wichita, Kan., is backing efforts to suspend a 2006 California law that calls for steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions statewide. Its political action committee was one of more than two dozen sponsors at a fundraiser being held at National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters.
The company's presence led Democrats to suggest that Fiorina's support for Proposition 23 on the Nov. 2 ballot stems from donations by oil and gas companies such as Koch.
Koch Industries has donated $1 million to the effort to pass the ballot initiative. It also is playing an active role in congressional races this year, donating about $1.8 million to federal candidates, with 85 percent flowing to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political spending.
The company's PAC has donated $5,000 to Fiorina, who was at a 12-to-1 fundraising disadvantage to Boxer at the end of the last campaign-finance reporting period, June 30.
Fiorina supports Proposition 23, saying the state law that it would suspend will lead to higher fees on businesses and more job losses in California. Under the initiative, the greenhouse gas law would be delayed until California's unemployment rate falls to 5.5 percent and stays there for four consecutive quarters, which has happened just three times over the past three decades.
Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for the Fiorina campaign, said Fiorina has not talked to Koch officials about energy policy. She said Fiorina "does not owe anything to anyone and wants to go to Washington to fight for jobs and what's in the best interest of all Californians."
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